Fiercely
by ravens rising
Summary: A moment of peace in the middle of chaos. Ukitake/Shunsui, Ichigo/Renji.


Title: Fiercely  
Rating: PG, maybe slight PG-13, IDK.  
Word Count: 800  
Warnings: mention of blood/injuries, boy kissing  
Characters: Ukitake, Renji, Ichigo, Unohana, Shunsui  
Pairings: Renji/Ichigo, Ukitake/Shunsui  
Notes: THIS IS FOR cmc42! I'm sorry I can't write fluff, this is the best I could do.

Ukitake stirs, blinking sleep out of his eyes as a commotion outside the room wakes him. It sounds like Abarai-fukutaichou's voice.

His suspicion is confirmed a few seconds later when the door bursts open and Abarai appears, carrying Kurosaki in his arms. Ukitake sits up, the concern in his eyes increasing as he sees Unohana behind them.

Abarai strides quickly over to the other bed and carefully places his friend down. Unohana moves to the other side of the bed and leans over the unconscious boy. Ukitake can see her hand glowing as she murmurs soft kido spells. Abarai's brow is furrowed in worry as he gazes down at Kurosaki.

Ukitake wonders what happened. Another person down? That's not good… especially one as strong as Kurosaki.

But then Unohana straightens up. "He'll be all right in no time. He just overstrained himself." She reports calmly.

Abarai's eyes fill with relief, though he crosses his arms and scowls. "The idiot."

Unohana smiles. "Call me if anything unexpected happens; I'll be down the hall tending to the other wounded." Abarai nods, his eyes on Kurosaki. "Is this okay with you, Ukitake-taichou?" His old friend asks, turning towards him.

Ukitake nods. "Of course." He knows there isn't much room elsewhere. Unohana smiles in thanks and rapidly leaves the room.

Abarai looks up in surprise, just now noticing Ukitake's presence. He flushes in embarrassment. "U-Ukitake-taichou!"

The taichou waves a hand at him. "'s fine. Really." He smiles and settles back against the pillows.

Abarai is about to make a response when Kurosaki stirs. "R-Renji?" He croaks.

"Hey, yah idiot." Abarai huffs, glaring down at him.

"W-where?…"

"Yer in fourth division, you stubborn ass. You got yerself wounded."

Kurosaki makes a dismissive sound and begins to try to get up, and Abarai make a strange squawking noise. "What're yah doing?!" He unfolds his arms and pushes the injured man back down.

"Hey!!" Kurosaki protests, but Renji growls at him. "I'm fine!"

"Like hell yah are!" Renji snarls. "That bastard almost killed yah!" Then the tension drains abruptly out of his frame. "… he almost killed yah." He repeats, slumping over and resting his head on Kurosaki's shoulder. Kurosaki freezes in surprise, and then tentatively brings up an arm to rest on Abarai's back.

They stay there, frozen and silent, and Ukitake looks away, knowing he's intruding on a private moment. He tries to go back to sleep, feeling his own wound ache.

-

It is night when Shunsui appears noiselessly in the room. Ukitake opens his eyes and smiles at him. Shunsui sits heavily down on the edge of his bed, and Ukitake studies him. Exhaustion is in his shoulders, and there are smudges of dirt and blood on his skin and clothes.

"Hey." Ukitake says softly, and Shunsui smiles wearily at him.

"You okay?" He asks, placing a hand in Ukitake's hair.

Ukitake leans into the touch and murmurs, "Yes. I'm recovering well. My illness has cooperated as well."

Shunsui's smile becomes more real. "Good. That's very good." Ukitake hums in agreement.

They sit there in silence for a couple minutes, each lost in their own thoughts. When Ukitake looks up again, he sees that his lover is staring across the room at the other bed. He follows Shunsui's gaze, and sees that the two are curled together on the bed, Abarai's arm slung protectively over Kurosaki's shoulder. Ukitake feels himself smiling. "Those two are cute." He comments softly.

Shunsui grins lopsidedly at him. "I suppose so."

Ukitake's eyes are almost wistful. "They're so young… they have so much life in them. They love… they love so fiercely. I can almost feel it." It makes him feel old.

As Shunsui smiles fondly down at him, he realizes it also makes him miss Shunsui. They've both been too busy with the war lately; they've barely had time to talk, let alone… His eyes sharpen and he reaches out and grabs the front of Shunsui's haori, jerking him down for a kiss. Shunsui makes a surprised noise, but quickly leans gratefully, eagerly into the kiss.

When they break away, both gasping for air, Ukitake wishes that he were not sharing a room. He'd like some privacy at the moment. He glances over at the two boys again, and then smiles tentatively up at Shunsui. "I know you probably have stuff to do back at the division, but… you look exhausted. Stay?" He pleads, shifting over. Shunsui immediately slumps down into the open space, wrapping his arms around Ukitake.

"Of course." He murmurs into Ukitake's white hair, and Ukitake leans into him, reveling in his warmth. He reaches up and tangles his hands in Shunsui's curly hair. They kiss again, slowly, lingeringly. They separate very reluctantly, and Ukitake smiles against Shunsui's lips.

_We'll win this war yet._


End file.
